BookLizard: The Hunger Games and Tomorrow, When the War Began have the same kind of feel - technically they're Science Fiction novels, but they feel more like survival stories with a bit of romance mixed in. I highly recommend both series.

christmas6391: "Teenagers thrown into a hostile environment with no way out because of their corrupt societies," can be used to describe both of these books. The difference? In The Maze Runner, none of them remember anything before waking up in the maze.

Aerrin99: Both books feature central heroines living in dystopian worlds that aren't quite what they seem. They each have an engaging romance and a story that digs behind the curtain of the society their characters live in.

I love this book, and my opinion didn't changed after, before and while I read this book. I thought that it was neat for the author to create a series were there, like the maze runner, has a bunch of teenagers fighting for their life. Now normally I don't love romance in a book, but here it just seemed to fit right in. Like it could be a crime if Suzanne Collins didn't have some "lovey-dovey" action going on. can't wait for the second book to come out!!!! ( )

This book would be great for high school. It is action packed and draws you in. In high school, some students lose interest in reading, so this would be a perfect book for them to read because it really grabs your attention. I love how it has the love story behind the Hunger Games story line. ( )

What would you do if you were picked to be publicly killed for the entertainment of the higher class? Would you kill a complete stranger just to get a little bit more food? No one would like to live a life like that. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is part of a sci-fi trilogy known as The Hunger Games. The books contain computer generated creatures and people trying to fight for their survival.

Katniss Everdeen, 16, soul supporter of her mother and sister since her father died on a mine explosion. She hunted illegally with her friend Gale to get food for their families and also bartered for necessities at the local black market in an abandoned coal warehouse. Katniss and her family live in a small poor district on the outskirts of a big nation known as Panem. The district was called District 12 and was known for their mining and production of coal. Once a year, Panem holds an enormous event known as the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games consists of one boy and one girl being chosen at random from each district to fight to their deaths until only one was left, who would then be crowned the victor. Panem held the Hunger Games to remind the districts that Panem was in control and that no one could stop them or change their ways.

On the day that the tributes would be chosen, known as The Reaping, all the children ages 12-18 would have their name placed into one of two glass bowls; boys and girls. The names were then chosen at random, first girls then boys. When the announcer/escort of the district 12 tributes Effie Trinket drew the the slip of paper that had the name of the girl tribute on it, it read ‘Primrose Everdeen’. Primrose was Katniss’ little sister and it was only her first year being involved with the Hunger Games. Katniss could not bear see her sister go through the Hunger Games and instead volunteered to take the place and the female tribute in the Games instead of her sister. Effie then drew the boys slip of paper which read ‘Peeta Mellark’, the baker’s son. They then had to show their survival skills in the arena and try to stay alive. Within all the chaos of trying to survive, they also had to pretend to be star-crossed lovers. It wasn’t hard for Peeta since he already loved Katniss. But, the real struggle was Katniss’, she had to try to look like she really loved Peeta and try to survive the Games all at once.

The Hunger Games in an adventure packed book that I enjoyed very much. The plot was paced perfectly and the storyline kept me hooked all throughout. The Hunger Games’ target audience mostly consists of young adults. The target audiences are young adults because the story is based on kids their age and it has violent content which a lot of young adults enjoy. These help keep the young adult audience engaged in the book. Suzanne Collins has expressed her true talent for writing in The Hunger Games. She used a lot of detail throughout the story in the settings and the characters backstories to help the readers get a good feel of the characters lives. She also has great talent in writing a story that keeps the readers attention. Overall, I thought The Hunger Games was a great story with great amounts of detail and adventure in it and I would recommend the story to others. ( )

I admit, I picked this up and read this because I wanted to see what all of the hype was about. Everyone I know was talking about or reading this, or had seen the movie. I am funny. I will not see a movie if I have not read the book that goes with it, so I hadn’t seen it yet. I have been getting some nudging from a friend, so figured I should read the book and see what it was all about.

In the beginning, Katniss seemed kind of fickle to me, in terms of response to male attention. She has this guy right in front of her, and yet it is almost like she does not even see him. When I was a teenager, I would have killed for a boy to have been that attentive to me.

I imagine Gale to be this handsome, tall young man who one would just melt into.

When you get into the meat of the story, you start to see the dynamic of the characters and who they really are, but it takes a little while to get there. There is a degree of frustration in reading, because the writing is somewhat juvenile, but entirely too graphic for some YA readers in their earlier teens.

The compassion Katniss is shown after she steps up after the horrific feeling when her sister’s name is called is amazing, though. I mean, you never expect to hear them call Prim, because her name was only in there once. It just does not seem possible. But it happens, and it is there, in black and white, and I was shocked, horrified. All of the same emotions I imagine Katniss was feeling.

But then you meet Peeta, who you instantly fall in love with, and find yourself tuning the pages just to see what is going to happen.

Overall, the story was enjoyable and suspenseful, if a bit horrifying. I would recommend this book highly to older teens and adults (16-17 ). I think some younger readers or some who are more sensitive might have a hard time with the level of violence in this book. ( )

The concept of the book isn’t particu­larly original — a nearly identical premise is explored in “Battle Royale,” a won­drously gruesome Japanese novel that has been spun off into a popular manga series.

Nor is there anything spectacular about the writing — the words describe the action and little else. But the considerable strength of the novel comes in Collins’s convincingly detailed world-building and her memorably complex and fascinating heroine. In fact, by not calling attention to itself, the text disappears in the way a good font does: nothing stands between Katniss and the reader, between Panem and America.

The Hunger Games isn't exactly a deep work of literature, but it is a fun, exciting adventure story with a cool, believable female hero. And a entertainingly bleak, dystopian world with just enough of a reflection of our own reality to be thought-provoking. And most of all, a media-savvy story of on-camera slaughter by a former television professional. Good stuff, check it out.

As negative Utopias go, Suzanne Collins has created a dilly. The United States is gone. North America has become Panem, a TV-dominated dictatorship run from a city called the Capitol. The rest of Panem is divided into 12 Districts (the former 13th had the bad judgment to revolt and no longer exists).

She reaches in, digs her hand deep into the ball, and pulls out a slip of paper. The crowd draws in a collective breath and then you can hear a pin drop, and I’m feeling nauseous and so desperately hoping that it’s not me, that it’s not me, that it’s not me.

As long as you can find yourself, you'll never starve.

"Was that what was in his pack at the feast? Body armor to defend against my arrows? Well, they neglected to send a face guard."

Last words

I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before — and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Haiku summary

Children selectedAgainst nature and young foesArena death match(conceptDawg)

You love your neighborUnless your life is at stakeIn that case.... they die!(jll112)

Death of young childrenMake a book and a movieOh well, When in Rome(jll112)

Katniss and PeetsCompete in the Hunger Games:One winner allowed.(passion4reading)

Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.

In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.… (more)